1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a printing apparatus for printing letters and other characters on a printing medium in the form of a tape-like strip.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, a printing apparatus of this sort has been known, for example, from Japanese Patent Publication 47-16105 and Laid-Open European Patent Application 0 319 209, in which letters and characters are printed on a tape-like printing medium and a printed part of the tape is cut to a predetermined length by means of a cutter blade. The cutter blade is usually of a straight or arcuate shape to cut the tape into a strip with a straight or arcuate end shape.
In case of a printed tape strip which has rectilinearly cut ends, it can be easily set in a predetermined position on a surface to which the tape is to be adhered, but it involves a problem that the four corners of the tape strip tend to separate from the bonded surface, which eventually leads to defoliation of the entire tape strip. On the other hand, in case of a tape strip with arcuately cut ends, it is less susceptible to defoliation, but difficulties are often experienced in setting the tape strip exactly in alignment with a certain line or edge of a predetermined adhering position. Moreover, the printing apparatus which is provided with either a straight cutter blade or an arcuate cutter blade restricts the user's choice to only one end shape. Further, there has been a problem that such a printed tape strip contains excessively large blank portions at the opposite ends, necessitating the user to cut off such blank portions afterwards with the use of scissors or other suitable tools.